


Steve Rogers x Reader ~ Love is a curse (Inspired by Practical Magic)

by AgentLlamaSocks



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Curses, F/M, Love Potion/Spell, Magic, Magical Realism, Past Brainwashing, Witchcraft, Witches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-06
Updated: 2019-05-22
Packaged: 2019-11-12 20:07:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18017588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentLlamaSocks/pseuds/AgentLlamaSocks
Summary: Reader promised herself from a young child that she would never fall in love. A curse upon her family saw that any man who fell for a female descendent would die tragically. So she cast a spell upon herself to create her perfect man, a man who simply could not exist. Years have gone by, Reader now works for the Avengers to use her gifts for good and when she is introduced to Steve Rogers, she is simply enchanted. And Steve… feels the exact same way. Is it the curse or is it true love? Will Steve be able to break the curse?- Inspired by Practical Magic -





	1. Chapter 1

**_(YN) : your name (LN) : last name (HC) : hair colour (EC) : eye colour_ **

 

**_Flashback_ **

**_Narrator POV_ **

 

The old-withered hand of your grandmother held yours tightly as you watched them lower the coffins into

the ground.

 

The coffins of your father and mother.

 

They died only a week apart from each other. The mutterings of the funeral attendees surround you, this is so overwhelming for only an 8 year old child. Your aunts had styled your (HL) (HC) hair to make you look a lot older than you did, you wanted to be strong for your family but the longing for your parents would always linger and eat away at you. Family friends approached you left-right and centre, patronising you about how your parents were in heaven with the angels.

 

This is why children traditionally  don’t attend the funerals.

 

But your family isn’t necessarily ‘traditional’.

 

Amongst all the mutters of sorrow and grieving, there was whispers of the curse which haunts the family and has once again taken two lives. The curse was cast centuries ago, by an ancestor of yours by the name Maria (L/N). She was tried for witchcraft by those who saw her gifts to be wicked and sinful. But somehow, she escaped her capture and escaped with only the clothes on her back and her ever-growing child in her belly, a child of a man who seemed enchanted by the young witch at the time. The love-struck enchantress truly  thought her lover, a wealthy lord would take her hand and wed her, making sure that their child would not be out of wedlock and would not forever be called a ‘bastard’.

 

But witches never get happily ever afters in these stories.

 

He never came to her, he promised her he would. But he never did.

 

She waited in a desolate piece of land, waiting. But as her child grew inside her, the sorrow and anger she felt towards her once lover grew and grew. This sorrow grew into a spell before becoming a curse. A curse that would put endanger any man who fell in love with a (L/N) woman. This curse would prevail for generations and generations, though many tried to break the curse, none succeeded.

 

You were the next generation, you would eventually see the same fate as your mother. For you see, your mother heard the sound of the death-watch beetle, a harbinger of death. She knew that the man she loved was doomed to die. It was easier to tell a child that her mother died of a ‘broken heart’ but secretly you  knew the truth. You saw the pain in your mother’s eyes after your father died and then, only a week later. You were orphaned.

 

You now lived with your aunts in their home outside of New York, the old house was much more comforting than the home where both of your parents had perished. One night, when the aunts were sleeping in their rooms, you sneaked into the greenhouse which you and the aunts tended to. From the earth grew tall foxglove plants, their deep purple petals lured anyone who did not see the hidden danger to their beauty or the belladonna, the herb which would help anyone drift away with a little bit of it slipped into their drink. You wandered around the greenhouse, collecting herbs and plants from high and low, you filled a small wooden bowl with petals, leaves and berries. You started the incantation that you had written in your small spell book, which had flowers pasted over the cover.

 

_ He will hear my call a mile away. _

_ He’ll whistle my favourite song. _

 

You picked the petals from a few of the roses, letting them gently fall into the bowl, the floral smell tickled your nose as you continued the spell.

 

_ He will be a gentleman, like a prince charming _

_ He can flip pancakes in the air _

_ He’ll be marvellously kind _

_ And his favourite shape will be a star _

 

You picked a flower which resembles the shape of a star, twiddling it in your fingers before placing it into the bowl gently, admiring the little flowers

 

_ And he’ll have two blue eyes, the colour of the sky.’ _

 

You picked a pair of bluebells, placing them into the bowl and turned around and tried to head upstairs when you came face to face with your Aunt Francis and Jet, wearing their dressing-gowns and their hair wild and untameable. Aunt Francis rose her dark eyebrow at your small figure at the end of the staircase “What are you doing out of bed?” She clicked her nails against the bannister. You immediately hid the bowl behind your back and your tiny spell-book, they looked at you in disbelief as you stuttered out a “N-Nothing!” The aunts slowly approached you warily “You sure?” Aunt Jet asked, you nodded insistently. The aunts looked at you before in their heads giving you the benefit of the doubt, you had just lost your parents and would be grieving in a way the aunts just may not understand.

 

The aunts made their way back up the stairs and smiled “Don’t be cursin’ any neighbourhood boys at midnight.” they joked and walked back up to their rooms, you let out a sigh of relief “I won’t!” you held the bowl and spell book close to your chest and scuttled up the stairs to the balcony which was attached to your room.You kept reminding yourself as you muttered “The guy I will dream up doesn’t exist.. And if he doesn’t exist then i’ll never die of a broken heart..” you held the bowl close as the cold, brisk wind hit your face, stepping barefoot onto the creaky balcony. You held out the bowl over the edge of the balcony, you focused on the petals which began to levitate, flying up into the night sky and towards the moon. Soon, the petals were gone and the spell was complete.

 

You stood alone on the balcony, holding the empty bowl as you out loud repeated “I’ll never die of a broken heart..” you wandered back into your room, the spell started to slowly take form but in a way that your younger self did not intend.

 

**_Flash forward 13 years ~~~_ **

 

With the spell long forgotten, you were currently rustling through your backpack, searching for a pen to use as you were in the middle of signing contracts with Fury concerning joining SHIELD. This was a major deal for you considering the gifts you had inherited from your family.

 

‘Finally I’ll get to help people..’ you smiled faintly as you told yourself that, you looked over the contract and signed the dotted lines with an elaborate swish and flick of your pen. You clicked your pen as you had signed everything, handing the contract back over to Fury. He nodded and slipped them back into his jacket’s inside pocket. “You ready?” He asked, this made your stomach feel slightly off but hey you were about to meet the world’s mightiest heroes, who wouldn’t be a little nervous. However, there was a lingering feeling, something niggling at you. It was a new sensation that couldn’t be exactly named. You ignored it briefly and just nodded to Fury’s question and spoke “I’m ready.” He opened the glass-doors “Well what are you waiting for, Agent?” You stepped out and turned back to ask Fury for the location of the others but he had already closed his office doors behind him

 

“Damn..” You muttered to yourself as you stepped into the hallway properly, searching for any other signs of life in this building. Your shoes clicked against the ground as you followed your intuition, stepping blindly down the hall in an attempt to find the others who were a part of your team. With each step, you let your eyes scan the rooms, still finding no signs of life. Letting out a sigh, your feet scuffed against the ground as you walked through the labyrinth like halls of the 'New Avengers Facility', this was starting to annoy you.

 

"Oh come on where is everyo-!?" You were muttering until you practically body slammed into something as you tightly turned a corner, you had partially winded yourself in the process, leaving you gasping. From the feeling of that collision, it felt as if you had face first slammed into a wall but no, you glanced up to see a pair of large sapphire eyes staring down at you.

 

It was Captain America.

 

Only you would have met America's sweetheart in this manner... By body-slamming yourself into him.

 

You usually would not be such as mess but your mind and body just melted in his presence, you cursed yourself at this wondering why your body had just decided not to work properly. Your mouth just fell open "U-Uhm.. I-I'm so sorry Sir!  I mean Captain America! Sir!" Your words seemed to just fall out of your mouth without your brain actually processing any of what you just said. Steve seemed taken aback by this, taking in your appearance and what you just spluttered out "Uhm Hello Ma'am." giving out his signature smile. You let out a smile "I'm the n-new recruit yeah yeah."

 

You wanted to kick yourself at how you were talking to him.

 

Why were you acting so flustered around him?

 

This whole situation was making your head spin, you came back to your senses when Steve asked if you wanted a companion on your way to the main lounge, you simply nodded and followed after the tall, blonde Avenger. You kept your bag close to you as you wandered through the halls with him, looking out of the large bay-windows. Steve glanced down at you “So, what’s your story ma’am?” You looked up at him “What do you mean?” You quirked an eyebrow at him as he chuckled “I mean. Where are you from? Who are you?” He asked, you giggled gently “Well isn’t that a deep question. Who am I?” You joked before truthfully answering “I’m (Y/N) (L/N) and I’ve lived in Scarsdale, New York since I was 8.” Steve grinned “Well nice to meet you (YN) from Scarsdale.”

 

You couldn’t help but smile at Steve, your cheeks were tinted pink “Well its been nice meeting you. Captain.” She expressed as they reached the lounge, many of the avengers were lounging around and waiting for updates on any missions instead of lounging around in their rooms. Natasha glanced over as well as Clint “You must be the new girl Fury mentioned.” She crossed one leg over the other and looked at you closely. As soon as Natasha spoke, the others turned their heads to look at you, inspecting you closely. You simply nodded “Yeah that's me.” the others just nodded and waved over and welcomed you warmly except Tony who seemed to have something on his mind, as if he was waiting to say something. When everyone had introduced themselves, Tony looked at Steve, who was still standing beside you, and then back to you and burst out “I’m Tony and I can already see that Steve’s called dibs.” Steve who had taken a sip of his water bottle had spat it out when Tony told that to (Y/N). You couldn’t help but let out a snort at that, though your cheeks matched Steve’s perfectly.

 

Steve, with his cheeks blazened red “I’m only being polite Tony. I’ve not called ‘dibs’.” He put in air-quotes, you snickered at that as you wondered how this ‘old man’ learned to use air-quotes like that in such a sarcastic yet kind way. You nodded “He was being a gentleman, you may want to learn a few things from him, Stark.”

 

**Tony POV**

Tony looked shocked at the two of you, you two ganging up on him together made him realise that Steve had somehow, in the five minutes he knew you, had got attached to the new girl. ‘Well Well Well..’ He said in his head and watched the two exchange looks with each other, he thought back to old-Hollywood movies as he watched the two, he couldn’t help it considering this was involved with Steve after all! But he could help but think that this maybe just maybe was Steve and (Y/N) ‘Meet Cute’. The beginning of something to form between them.

 

He was pulled from his thoughts by the entrance of a tall, dark and mysterious shadow which entered the lounge.

 

It was Fury.

 

Fury walked into the middle of the room, everyone watched him even (Y/N). He knew that Fury’s entrance into the lounge meant this would be the formal announcement of (Y/N)’s position in the team. The avengers knew that things were only official when Fury told them himself.

 

**(Y/N) POV**

 

You watched Fury closely as he straightened out his jacket and looked around at the Avengers, he stood amongst them but still he wasn’t exactly one of them. He was still a superior.  Fury let out a cough before speaking “I see you have met the new recruit, welcoming (Y/N) into your ranks. Her gift will surely be needed in any missions which arise.” That is when you felt the eyes land on you once more, like they did when you first entered the lounge. You sighed ‘They probably weren’t expecting that.’ You simply rubbed your arm nervously and nodded, not disagreeing with Fury’s statement.

 

Steve was the first to pipe up “Wait.. So you have powers?” He questioned, looking at you intently and in some sort of disbelief. You pondered how you were going to phrase this for a moment, every sort of description you used sounded stupid inside your head. You were going to go with the one which sounded the least stupid. Well at least you think its the least stupid. ‘Here I go..’ You bigged yourself up inside your head, looking at all their faces but especially Steve’s. For some reason his eyes on you made you the most nervous as you gulped and prepared to tell your new colleagues of the dark mark on your family name, the reason you were bullied as a child, the reason you were considered for the job here with them. 

 

It was time.

 

**_End of Chapter 1_ **


	2. Chapter 2 : New Home, Old Curses

** (YN) : your name (LN) : last name (HC) : hair colour (EC) : eye colour  (FD) : Favourite Drink (BN): Band Name **

 

** Your POV **

 

“I’m a witch.” you fumbled out and awaited the look of disgust, flinching. You were used to the hatred of kids your age, the rocks they’d throw at you if you even tried to come over to play with them. Those childhood memories had scarred you. They’d marred you and made you afraid to trust again. But you didn’t see the harshness, or the hatred you’d seen in other eyes in your teammate’s eyes, only a faint curiosity which you could see in Steve’s eyes. Shyly, Steve spoke up “What does that mean exactly?” he seemed as if he was treading lightly, wanting to appear not judgmental.

 

That was nice for a change.

 

Smiling, you fiddled with your hands for a moment “Well. A witch is an umbrella term really, not one witch is the same. We have our strengths and weaknesses like potion work, divination.” you couldn’t stay still as you told them of your practice, your craft. Tony perked up at this “Wow we have a real-life Harry Potter on our team.” he teased, you rolled your eyes “We don’t have magic wands but hey, I do like the books and movies.” you admitted as Fury encouraged you to return to your original train of thought, which you did.

 

“I grew up learning my craft and trying to perfect my skills, but in the world of magic and witchcraft, you’ve never learnt everything. Not really.” you noted and smiled “I’m a healer mostly, I hope to do no harm in my craft mostly. I do divination and some level of potion work.” You were somehow now a little more confident, talking about your craft outside of a world filled with judgement meant that your insecurity shriveled up, you didn’t have to fear them. Nat stepped over “Can you fight?” She spoke bluntly and almost cold, you could tell she didn’t trust you yet and that made you nervous “No, in my craft I am told to not cause unnecessary harm.” You looked up at the tall red-head, she looked at you with some intrigue before stepping back “I guess I’ll be teaching you a couple of things” she noted. Nodding, you stood back from Nat and was bombarded with questions from Tony about how it worked, the whole magic thing. You kept things vague, a witch’s craft is usually a very personal one, one fraught with secrecy and personal exploration.

 

“Well. Though the craft is very personal, I can show you some of the things I can do.” You cracked your knuckles, your fingers tingling in preparation. Walking towards the kitchen counter, you focused and concentrated on what action you wished to put out into the physical realm. Your hand grasped a piece of paper on the counter, you gave yourself a paper cut. The group looked confused by this, wondering why you purposely give yourself a paper cut. You let the cut bleed down your finger a little, for the dramatics, before you leant in and kissed the wound. The blood began to roll back up your finger, returning back to the wound it originated from, it began to seal up gently and your finger was free of any scar from the paper-cut. As if it never happened.

 

Tony was the first to speak out “Well that definitely is gonna come in handy.” He chuckled, the others simply nodded, a bit surprised that you had ‘magical kisses’ but they couldn’t knock it. You smiled “that’s only one thing I can do, I’m a jack of all trades I suppose.” You felt strangely comfortable with your team, well sure Natasha wasn’t exactly best buddies with you but mostly everyone had been accepting and welcoming to your arrival. Especially Steve, who for some reason made your heart beat a mile a minute, you only just met the man and suddenly you’re fawning over him.

 

Pushing Steve from your mind, you turned to see your things arriving from your apartment, Fury wanted you to stay here at the Avengers Compound, so you could settle in with the team. Honestly, you were glad to be freed of your apartment which was mouldy and by the look of the ceiling, you constantly feared that Mrs Krook from upstairs would eventually come falling through with her dogs and knitting in tow, maybe even her recliner. So, you were relieved to be freed of that apartment, there weren’t many affordable options in the city so were glad that you’d been given the option which you now gladly took. Steve walked over to you “That must be your belongings.” he noted aloud, you nodded “Yep. I better get this stuff up to the new room.” Your voice was a little squeaky, your body seemed to shrivel up into embarrassment as soon as Steve talked with you. Quickly enough, off you went, collecting a few of your things and leaving Steve just standing there puzzled and wondering if he did something wrong. Steve seemed to shake of the kicked puppy look and walked over to help you “Here. Let me take the boxes.” He took the heavy boxes with ease, you tinged pink “Thanks. I wouldn’t have made it two seconds with that box, its full of my books.”

  


Steve nodded “Avid reader?” he asked as he walked with you through the halls of the compound, the halls were a lot more quiet than the lounge which was usually booming with voices and clattering from the lab which Tony commonly inhabited. Smiling Shyly, you nodded “Always have been. My aunts made me into a bookworm. Their house is 50 percent books with the rest full of plants and cats.” You joked, though the nerves in your stomach from being near him still lingering. He laughed “So the whole cat thing is true?” he asked innocently, you nodded “Well they’re great companions, especially when it comes to the craft.” Steve couldn’t help but smile at that, you smiled back and kept walking your way down towards your new room.

 

The door to your new room was wide open, somewhat empty as the hired workers for Tony moved some essential furniture into the empty room such as a bed, chest of drawers and a desk. You were somewhat planning the things you wanted to do with the room, some of your tools in your craft such as your herb pots would help this place seem homey right away. Steve put some boxes down “Shall I leave you to settle in, Ma’am?” He still acted so polite around you, compared to the others who simply called you by your name. You turned to look at him “Yeah, I’ll start unpacking” but as Steve started to walk out you spluttered “Oh! Steve! Uhm… please call me (YN).” Steve was looking at you, his cheeks tinged red, he was stuck in one spot for a moment but got moving when some of the workers who worked under Tony helped carry your things past the threshold of your room. You thanked them before getting to work, you used your phone to listen to your favourite songs, you were more productive when you listened to (B/N). With the music blaring, you unpacked your books onto the bookshelf, you’d set up your altar last, the area where you’d keep all your tools for your craft. The room began to seem more like yours as soon as your belongings inhabited the space, your books on the shelf, the photos on the table of you and your aunts.

 

When most of the boxes of books and knick-knacks had been unpacked, you moved onto your clothes which you had packed into a suitcase, picking up the folded shirts and bottoms, you gently placed them into the chest of drawers. The more fancy attire was hung up in the wardrobe such as your dresses and clothes which you kept for extremely special occasions, occasions connected with your magic and family.

Witchy holiday clothes, that was the layman's term of what the clothes represented and were used for. As the music continued to play, you finished unpacking your clothes which were only a little crinkled from transport which you didn’t greatly mind to be fair. You only had 2 more boxes to unpack, these were the important boxes. These were all the equipment you used in your altar, all the tools of your trade. They needed to be carefully unpacked and placed upon an area of your choice, you decided on the small table by the window. It was small but it was enough for what you needed it to do. You put your potted plants on the window-ledge before placing your crystals and tarot cards on the table, you positioned things so it was practical but still pretty in its own right. The room looked so different than it did before, the small box-like room now looked or resembled something fantastical, with tapestries strewn across the blank, white walls and with your plants bringing some life to the lifeless room you’d been given. You were proud of how you’d decorated, the room no longer felt daunting and not a place you could call your own. But now, the room felt like yours. And you were happy about that.

 

With a moments silence, you looked around your new room but was rudely interrupted by your growling stomach, you were starving. Walking back through the halls, eventually you reached the kitchen which was empty surprisingly. You took advantage of this and started to make yourself something small, not wanting to waste a lot of food on one meal. “Where is everybody?” You muttered to yourself, since the lounge seemed abandoned, suddenly you heard a loud voice above you “Everyone apart from Miss Romanoff and Mr Barton are still on the compound, Miss (LN).” You squeaked and looked up and tried to find where the voice came from “Who are you?” you were slightly on edge till the voice spoke again “I am FRIDAY, I’m an AI designed by Tony Stark.” You nodded and looked around, as if still looking for the voice “Okay…” FRIDAY spoke up “Is that all, Miss (LN)?” FRIDAY asked, you cleared your throat “Uhm yes and please call me (YN)” You returned to the hob to make some scrambled eggs, a simple dish but filling enough as a dinner. You dropped 2 slices of bread  into the toaster, as you put the eggs away, you used some of your powers to move the spatula, tending to the still cooking scrambled egg.

 

Multitasking at its best.

 

Reaching into the cupboards, you pulled out a small porcelain plate as the bread popped out of the toaster, toasted to your liking. With the toast toasted, you added some butter before placing the cooked scrambled egg on-top, drizzling some of your favourite sauce on top for some flavour. You realised you’d need a drink of sorts for your dinner, you searched the cupboards and searched for a glass, and there they were… on the highest shelf. Even for a tall person, reaching for the glasses would be a feat, you climbed atop the kitchen counter to try and retrieve a glass. With your fingers grasping at the rim of the glass, your arm extended as far as it could go,  you’d just reached it when a voice called out “You need some help there?” You squeaked and lost your hold on the glass, the glass toppled over and fell from the shelf, you heard a quick shuffle across the room, obviously the person who’d startled you was trying to help. You reached your hands out and focused, though your mind was scattered at this moment in time. The glass froze mid-air, your powers had caught it mid-fall. With this realisation, you let out a big sigh of relief, reaching out and put the glass down on the counter, your mind now focused on who had startled you. You turned to see Steve standing there, his expression had some guilt laced in it, knowing that he’d been the one to cause this near-catastrophe. Steve rubbed the back of his neck “Hey there…” there was a sense of awkwardness, you couldn’t help but smile shyly  “Hey. I should’ve been more careful honestly, I’m easily spooked.” looked up at the blue-eyed blonde with a joking look, though your heart was pounding, your chest tight. Steve let out a smile “Yeah. We never use those glasses, we just use the ones that are washed and then reuse them.” Hinting to why the glasses were atop the highest shelf “Well why are they on that shelf to begin with?” Steve smiled at your question “That’s a long story.” You smiled and picked up your dinner “Well as soon as I get myself a drink, you can tell me the story as I have my dinner.” Your cheeks tinted pink as you picked up your glass and walked to the fridge, you reached for (Favourite Drink) and poured yourself some into the glass.

 

With one hand holding your dinner and cutlery and one hand holding your drink, Steve walked with you to the table to sit down, you put your dinner and drink on the table. Sitting down with Steve, you settled and started to eat your dinner as he started the story you wanted to know about. As the two of you sat together, you both laughed over the story and you nearly choked on your dinner a few times due to how hard you were laughing. This small moment with Steve stirred up unknown emotions within you, on one hand you didn’t know this man one bit. But on the other hand, you felt something stirring, it felt uncontrollable, it felt like something pulled you to the avenger, it felt natural but yet constructed. It felt like fate, uncontrollable and often unable to escape from. Steve and yourself chatted, long after you’d finished your dinner and your drink, though the butterflies didn’t cease as you heard him laugh and chuckle. Without controlling it, you felt a yawn escape your lips, it had been a long day after all.

 

“You’ve had a long day, better let you get to bed.” Steve looked at you from across the table, you stretched “But I’ve still to clean up the kitchen!” You rose to your feet to clean the kitchen, not wanting to leave it a mess, though you were practically dragging yourself around the kitchen. You felt an arm on your shoulder “Let me do that, you’re tired and you’ve entertained me with your presence far longer than you should’ve.” Pointing to the clock, it was midnight now. You tried to retort but when you looked into his eyes, you felt your response just disappear, mind blank.

 

‘What is this man doing to you? One minute you’re fine and the next moment you’re a bumbling mess!’ You thought to yourself as your mind was no longer blank “Uhm.. Okay.” You gave in, but you swore to yourself that next time you’d not give in, though your heart and gut told you otherwise. Steve led you to your room, he walked you up to the door and smiled “Goodnight (YN).”

 

It was the first time he’d used your name, you liked it.

 

You nodded tiredly “Goodnight Steve.” You sneaked into your room and when the door closed, you put your hand on your chest, the feeling of your heart pounding against your chest could easily be felt through your fingertips. It felt like you could feel the blood pumping to your ever-pounding heart.

 

Deep down you wondered if Steve’s heart was feeling the same way, but unbeknownst to you Steve stood in the kitchen, his own hand upon his heart, he felt the heavy pounding of his heart too. Almost as if the two of your were in some way…

 

Connected.

  


_**END OF CHAPTER 2 ~~~~** _

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N
> 
> Hi Everyone! Sorry for not updating the story, I’ve been revising for my a-levels and had my second exam yesterday! Hopefully my memory of Russian History is still good hehe. Heading to University in 4 months but in under a month I’ll be finished my exams so hopefully more updates will be published for you! Hope you guys understand! Hope you’ve enjoyed this chapter, just settling into the story but the next chapter is where shit is going down. Prepare yourselves everybody!
> 
> AgentLlamaSocks
> 
> xxx


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